Fragile
by Cerulean Pen
Summary: After Sweetie Belle demonstrates tremendous magical abilities, Twilight Sparkle offers to educate her. But when Sweetie Belle shies away, Twilight Sparkle becomes determined to uncover her fear.


Fragile

Summary: After Sweetie Belle demonstrates tremendous magical abilities, Twilight Sparkle offers to educate her. But when Sweetie Belle shies away, Twilight Sparkle becomes determined to uncover her fear.

English Hurt/Comfort/Friendship Rated: K+ Chapters:1 Words: Sweetie Belle & Twilight Sparkle

"LOOK OUT!"

Sweetie Belle whirled about and emitted a strangled squeal at Scootaloo's warning. She was already uneasy about being in the Everfree Forest without permission, and the thought of some murderous monstrosity crouched behind her obliterated any nerve that hadn't been frayed. But when she about-faced, all she found was Apple Bloom, who was struggling to contain her laughter. The unicorn gazed at her companion for a moment, comprehending the prank Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had pulled. "Hey…"

The two foals fell to the grass, trembling as guffaws wracked their bodies and sent them rolling. "You-you should've seen the look on your face!" Scootaloo mustered between giggles, borrowing a phrase that Rainbow Dash so often applied to the aftermath of a prank. Tears began to cascade down her orange cheeks and a case of the hiccups seemed inevitable.

Sweetie Belle attempted to veil her reddened cheeks, but with her snow-white coat, they stood out like ripe tomatoes. "W-well, I was just, uh, preparing myself in case we actually…_do _run into anything." Her lame excuse only multiplied their hysterics, prompting Sweetie Belle to be a bit more firm. "If we don't get going now, we'll never get to the river in time. Come on." She stepped forward with an unusually bold expression, even though her ears had flopped away from her skull and she kept low to the ground.

Apple Bloom gathered her composure right after Sweetie Belle, dusting herself off before trotting after the unicorn. Scootaloo, however, had yet to calm down from her rather simple prank, and hiccupped at a rate unknown to pony kind. She rose to her hooves, realizing her friends had proceeded with their plan. "W-wait!"

The little pegasus flared her wings against the evening breeze, catching just enough to propel herself forward, catching up with her fellow crusaders. Scootaloo allowed them a minute or two of silence to collect their thoughts, and, as quick as a whip, was rattling off their scheme. "Okay, so after we get to the river, we'll use these old tree branches to cross. Archer told me yesterday that there's all kinds of stuff on the other side of the Everfree Forest that could earn us our cutie marks."

Sweetie Belle almost spoke up in disagreement, but chastised herself just in time. She couldn't risk being dubbed a scaredy-pony yet again, and besides, Scootaloo was their fearless leader, who knew exactly what to do. She wanted to earn her cutie mark as much as her friends, albeit in a safer manner. What was there to be worried about?

"Here it is, guys! Ricochet River!" Scootaloo's exclamation was put into effect by the sound of the river currents colliding with the banks. The water was frothing and a geyser of spray hit the young trio whenever two conflicting waves clashed. The aforementioned tree branches reached high above the river, suicide to anypony who had a lack of balance. "All we have to do is climb up the tree and walk across. It'll be easy. Apple Bloom, you first!"

"And yer positive this'll be worth it?" Apple Bloom inquired as she approached the trunk. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and nodded with an attitude she had perfected after viewing her hero use it so many times. Apple Bloom glanced up at the quivering boughs extending from the trunk, and wrapped her forelegs around it. "Here Ah go!"

Sweetie Belle watched Apple Bloom ascend the tree with increasing anxiety, a pit of dread lodging itself in her stomach. This did not look safe, not at all. If Rarity found out she had done such an idiotic, dangerous thing, she would either faint or send her to live with their parents permanently. The pale olive filly scrambled to the pinnacle of the tree, gesturing for Scootaloo to follow her.

"You go ahead," Sweetie Belle insisted before Scootaloo could even offer for her to try. The pegasus cheated with the use of her wings, but at a price: by the time she had reached Apple Bloom, she was panting from the energy lost in the process.

"Come on Sweetie Belle, it's yer turn!" Apple Bloom bellowed down to the unicorn, beckoning with the hoof that wasn't clutching a bare branch. Sweetie Belle gulped, taking a step forwards with her eyes fixated on the lofty apex of the tree. "What're ya waiting for? C'mon!"

Sweetie Belle touched one hoof to the bark, and was shocked to hear a crackling. When she peered back at her friends, she found them panicking and she understood what was taking place: the branches were going to collapse. "Guys, wait! Hold on, don't move so much!" The filly felt unusually level-headed, searching for a way out of the situation. "Just hold still-watch out, Scootaloo!"

The pegasus shrieked, scurrying to remain on top of the tree while the branch she had been resting on plummeted to the river below. She wrapped her forelegs around a peak of bark, wheezing out of sheer terror. "Apple Bloom, keep holding onto the tree!"

Sweetie Belle paced frenetically, forming an idea that sounded more insane than even Scootaloo's most outlandish plots. "Guys, don't move! I-I'm going to see if I can use my magic!" She had been practicing with Rarity the past two weeks, and the most she could levitate was a button box and pincushion. Lifting two foals was different. Much different.

"Are you _crazy? _You'll get us killed!" Scootaloo bellowed with uncertainty in her tone. She was more concerned for Sweetie Belle: the strain of lifting the two of them to safety was unimaginable for a young unicorn. "We'll be able to climb down! Just-just get out of the way so we can-what are you doing?"

Sweetie Belle's head was bent downwards by some invisible gravity, luminescence sparkling from the tip of her horn. It hurt. That was all her mind could process, that it hurt worse than tangling her mane in a sewing machine, tumbling out of a tree, receiving an electrical shock. Every blood cell was vibrating, agony laced through her bones, her brain shuddered with the magical impulses. And she didn't even know if something was happening.

Just as her world went dark, she heard somepony cheer and somepony cry.

:::::

The only thing she knew was pain. Her forehead burned like a forest fire and the darkness didn't seem to extinguish it. She was nothing: not a body, not a mind, just…pain, bubbling from somewhere. She searched for something, anything, in this oblivion, where it could end the agony driving like spikes into her skull. She just wanted to sleep…

"I think she's waking up…"

These voices. They were so loud, reverberating throughout the caverns of her mind and only intensifying the throbbing near the base of her brow. An abstract blur of colors flashed past her, followed by a blast of ice that relaxed rigid muscles she didn't even know she had. The excruciation melted into a dull ache, bestowing her with the energy to crack open her bleary eyes. A familiar pegasus was stirring a bowl in front of her, an aroma like rosemary teasing her nostrils.

"How are you feeling, Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy asked benevolently, removing the cool cloth from the unicorn's forehead and saturating it in her herb concoction. She was gifted with a lost body, stirring beneath a blanket that reminded her of how chilly she was. Aside from her general confusion, Sweetie Belle was feeling much better, enough to raise her eyelids all the way.

"Okay. Whatever's in that cloth is making me feel better." Sweetie Belle drank in her surroundings: she was on a dividend in Fluttershy's cottage, which hosted the mane six and her fellow crusaders. What were they all doing here? "What's going on?"

"You saved us!" Scootaloo spoke up from an armchair she was sharing with Rainbow Dash, the mare's foreleg looped around her smaller companion. "We were up in a tree that was about to come down and you told us that you would save us. All this magic came from your horn and lifted us to the ground. I'm surprised you don't have a cutie mark for saving lives!"

Sweetie Belle blushed at Scootaloo's praise, casting her eyes towards her still blank flank. "I'm just glad you guys are safe. I guess I'm better at magic than I thought." Rarity grinned at her younger sister, impressed by what she had heard from Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Even if they were embellishing, it had saved the two foals from certain death.

Without warning, Twilight Sparkle leapt to her hooves, beaming uncontrollably. "Are you kidding, Sweetie Belle? From what I heard, you performed a levitation spell that I didn't learn until my second year at Celestia's school. You have magical potential! I could teach you!"

In contrast to the elder unicorn's ecstasy, Sweetie Belle shook her head rapidly, appearing terrified at the thought. Rarity raised her eyebrows and was about to admonish her for rude behavior when she perceived the fear in her eyes. It may have been her imagination, but she needed to have a talk with her. "Well, girls, it's been quite a night and I think the two of us need to head home. Fluttershy, thanks so much for taking care of her. I promise, today we'll go right to the spa for a double session."

"Oh, that's all right," the butter-yellow pegasus spoke up, but her voice fell on deaf ears as Rarity nosed Sweetie Belle up onto her flank. The unicorns were off in a flash, leaving behind a very baffled Twilight Sparkle. Her expression transformed from exuberant to crestfallen in a matter of seconds.

"Was it something I said? Was I too excited?" the lavender mare inquired, mostly to herself. Applejack shook her head, resting a hoof on Twilight's neck.

"Oh, don't sweat it, sugar cube. She was probably just a little scared, that's all. First time doing powerful magic and all. She'll come around, after a little bed rest and a good talking to." Applejack shared a smile with Twilight Sparkle before swiveling around to face Apple Bloom, the corners of her mouth plummeting in discontent. "As for you, little filly, Ah'm gonna let Big McIntosh take care of ya."

"Uh, yeah." Rainbow Dash chimed in, attempting to sound as disciplinary as Applejack, although falsity crept into her voice. "Yeah, squirt, I'm gonna tell your parents where you were." Behind Applejack's back, she winked at Scootaloo and stuck her tongue out to assure the filly she had no intentions of enforcing punishment.

"I'm going through a party! Not like a regular, old surprise party, but a congratulations you got your magic party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hopping up and speeding away with unfathomable speed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack parted ways, fillies in tow, leaving Twilight Sparkle to assist Fluttershy in tidying up the clutter nine ponies left behind.

"You shouldn't feel bad, Twilight," Fluttershy continued to console, carrying her herb bowl to the sink and emptying it out. Angel took the dishware from her to dry, placing it back in the cabinet with care. "Sweetie Belle is probably a little nervous, that's all. I was scared when I was first able to fly, and it took a long time before I really wanted to start trying it."

"I was just excited," Twilight Sparkle admitted, utilizing her magic to levitate the blankets and fold them up neatly. "I really want to teach a pony about magic, like Celestia taught me, and Sweetie Belle just seemed…perfect to teach. She's actually interested in my stories and she usually seems so willing to learn."

Fluttershy organized the last of her remedies in their designated chest, some from Zecora, others picked from the Everfree Forest. "I understand what you mean, Twilight. Just give her a little time, I'm sure she'll come through. It must've been scary last night, with her friends in danger. You're an excellent teacher, everything will be okay."

:::::

What Sweetie Belle soon learned was that since she had sustained injury on the crusade, Rarity was much more lenient about punishment. In fact, Rarity hardly scolded her, although she did cast her odd glances when she thought Sweetie wasn't looking. Sweetie Belle found herself curled on the dividend in the studio, with a glass of chocolate milk and an atypically tolerant Opalescence. As comfortable as it was, she was rather confused.

Rarity frittered away her time by filling an order that wasn't due for another week, humming under her breath and peering over the edge of her eyeglasses. She really wanted to question Sweetie Belle about her reaction to Twilight Sparkle's offer, but had to handle the subject with foals' gloves. "So, Sweetie Belle, why don't you tell me about your crusade last night?"

The little unicorn gazed down at the inch of chestnut resting at the bottom of her cup, confirming her suspicion. All of this was because of the situation at Fluttershy's cottage. "Well, Scootaloo heard from Archer that there was stuff on the other side of the Everfree Forest that could help us get our cutie marks. She and Apple Bloom climbed up this tree above Ricochet River, but I never went up it. And I was kind of scared…"

Rarity exhaled lightly; at least Sweetie Belle had known what dangers could befall upon entering the Everfree Forest at night. "Well, it was not a very responsible thing to do. But, I'm glad you didn't go any further. The manticores are waking up from hibernation this time of year and I'm afraid to know what would happen if…" Rarity swallowed, and shook her head. "Well, anyway, I'm quite impressed by what you did."

"Why is everypony so impressed by my magic?" Sweetie Belle asked, a strip of chocolate milk tingeing her upper lip brown. Rarity levitated a washcloth in her direction, and the foal wiped her mouth in embarrassment.

"Sweetie Belle, I had just taught you the most basic levitation spell I knew. Than, in a moment of danger, you lifted two ponies out of a tree and onto the ground without a scratch. That sort of magic may have only been a surge, but it shows signs of potential." The snow-white unicorn silenced her sewing machine, scrutinizing the fabric for a crooked stitch. "Twilight Sparkle would have been more than happy to teach you about it."

Sweetie Belle sighed and stroked Opalescence's back while she slept. "I f know. Well, maybe I'm not so great at magic, and I shouldn't waste her time with lessons." She settled against the couch, evading eye contact with Rarity as she allowed her words to soak in. "I mean, not every unicorn is meant to do magic and I don't wanna, you know, spend all this time learning about something I'm not even good at."

Rarity struggled to make sense of her sister's argument, but she found the case unreasonable. "I don't understand. Sweetie, every unicorn needs to learn magic-it's part of their everyday life. You wouldn't be wasting her time. In fact, Twilight would be overjoyed to teach you. What's really going on, Sweetie?"

"Nothing," she hastily replied, snuggling deeper underneath the blankets. "There's nothing wrong."

"Well, I promised Fluttershy I'd take her to the spa for a double session this afternoon, so I'm going to leave you at Twilight Sparkle's. You don't have to take a magic lesson, but at least talk to her." Rarity laid the garment out on her tabletop to adorn the hem with jewels, and turned around, discovering the unicorn to be asleep. She abandoned the dress and tugged the quilt to Sweetie Belle's chin.

After she was positive Rarity was out of view, the little filly buried her face into the velvet and shed a tear.

:::::

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle her?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded, even though she was still uneasy over the whole lesson situation. Sweetie Belle kept her gaze fixated on the ground, allowing Rarity to herd her towards the door. "Thank you again Twilight, I'll have to repay you for this. Be good Sweetie, or there will be no crusading for a week."

"Yes, Rarity," Sweetie Belle responded dutifully, stepping into the library and meandering around behind the elder unicorns. Rarity closed her eyes, still attempting to comprehend her sister's behavior.

"I'll be fine, Rarity. Maybe I can even find out what happened last night," Twilight Sparkle suggested, assuring herself more than Rarity. Nevertheless, the mare flashed the other a smile before she galloped towards the spa, already late for her appointment with Fluttershy. Twilight Sparkle closed the door and watched Sweetie Belle for a moment as she milled about, occasionally pausing to glance at book titles.

"Well, Sweetie Belle, we've got about two hours to spend together. What do you want to do?" The filly did her best to shrug, halting in front of the tome spread over the podium, finding several notes scrawled in the margins. "Oh, I've seen you've found my copy of 'Casting and Conjuring'. It's quite interesting, actually."

Sweetie Belle realized Twilight was beginning to persuade her into talking about magic and quickly walked around the podium. "Oh, that's…um, great." She significantly deflated, much to Twilight's despair, and the mare scrambled to think of something.

"Well, would you like some tea?" Twilight Sparkle offered, pleased when the foal nodded. They proceeded into the kitchen, where Twilight began to brew a hoof full of chamomile tea leaves and left the water boiling on the stove. "Sweetie, I know you've been through a lot the past few hours and I know my offer was a little out of the blue. But I would like to know what's bothering you."

Ah, Twilight had hit her like a bolt from the blue, offering the question when she least expected. Sweetie Belle leaned against the wall, gazing at the hissing tea kettle suspended over the scarlet coils. "Nothing's bothering me," she repeated, despising the edge of doubt in her tone.

Twilight Sparkle could see right through her fib, but said nothing as she poured two mugs of tea and brought one to Sweetie Belle. "Now, Sweetie, you don't get anything out of lying. I've learned that. I really want you to trust me. This isn't even about magic anymore, this is about us. What is happening that is making you so upset?"

Without realizing it, Twilight Sparkle had allotted a spark of irritation to enter her voice and her pupils minimized for a brief moment. Sweetie Belle cringed, hiding her visage behind her cotton candy mane so she wouldn't have to face _this _again. "Th-there's nothing w-wrong," she stammered, sipping her beverage to escape speech.

"Sweetie, that's the worst lie I've heard since Applejack was under Discord's spell. I don't understand what's going on that's got you so upset, but I want to know now." Her tenor had raised a decibel, echoing through Sweetie Belle's mind until her mind concocted the image of what this situation was mirroring.

_"I'd hate to cause a rift between such good friends…"_

_"Oh, you're going to like Smarty Pants. And you're going to like her more than anything."_

_"Get them away from my doll!"_

"Stop it, Twilight! Please, before you start it again!" Sweetie Belle demanded uncertainly, retreating from the mare. She was trembling and the visions of that afternoon were flashing before her eyes as she backed away. Twilight Sparkle blinked, focusing on the vacant spot the filly had been crouched in. What had she been doing that startled her so much? And what did she mean, again?

"Sweetie Belle!" Twilight recognized the harshness in her tone and relaxed, gathering her composure until she was sure she wouldn't shout. "Sweetie, it's okay. I'm not going to do anything." The snow-white unicorn was still doubtful, and she scurried ahead of Twilight Sparkle, shuddering when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. "What…what are you so afraid of?"

"You!"

Shocked by the outburst, Twilight Sparkle stumbled backwards, almost moved by the sheer fear emanating from Sweetie Belle. Tears glossed her sap green eyes, threatening to escape before she blinked them back into hiding. "Wh-what?"

"You, Twilight! Whenever you get mad about something or absorbed in it, you get…scary. Like when you tried to get me and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to like your Smarty Pants doll. You acted weird, like you weren't yourself. And than you made us all fight for it…" Sweetie Belle sniffled and shook her curled tresses to the side, revealing a raised scar on her neck.

Her stomach doing hurdles, Twilight Sparkle leaned forward, remarking the past severity of the wound. She had done her best to put her moment of insanity in the past, but it did not excise the damage she had caused in the process. "I-I did that?"

"Well, it was actually that carrot farmer, but we were all under your spell." Sweetie Belle gazed down miserably at the floorboards, striving to blink her incessantly falling tears away. "I don't really blame you for it, because you were upset, but it was really scary. And it made me realize that not all magic is good. Magic can hurt ponies."

Twilight Sparkle's chest tightened at the filly's opinion on magic, unable to breathe for a sickening minute. "Oh, Sweetie Belle…" She found herself choking on her own words, the letters swirling in her throat and forcing their way into her mouth. "I feel terrible…I never wanted to scare you out of doing magic. And you're right, not all magic is good. But it depends on the kind of pony using it that makes it good or bad."

Sweetie Belle understood, but she was still unsure as to whether she should trust Twilight Sparkle. Finally, the foal lay her head on Twilight's flank, feeling safe once she looped a foreleg around her. As they sat in the center of the library, slants of radiance illuminating the room, Sweetie Belle began to piece together what she meant. It had to be the pony who decided whether magic was good or bad. A simple spell could kill another is executed right, or vice versa.

Twilight Sparkle never meant to hurt her. Sweetie recalled how ashamed she had appeared when Princess Celestia had to repair what the spell had done to Ponyville. Most of the time, magic was trustworthy, unless it was abused by evil forces. She had used it to save her friends from certain death, had she not? Maybe…maybe Twilight was right. "Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Can we look at your beginner guides to magic? I think I want to learn a spell that can levitate things."

Twilight Sparkle wiped her eyes and glanced down at the filly, a smile gradually spreading across her face. "Of course, Sweetie Belle." She consulted a shelf where tomes of the subject were stacked and chose her most simple guide. Twilight levitated it before them, flipped open the cover, and cleared her throat.

"Magic is a power bestowed only to unicorns and, on rare occasions, alicorn. It is what separates unicorns from other raises of pony kind, and is a power that can never be created or destroyed."

As Twilight read on, Sweetie Belle placed her chin in her hooves and watched the text before her become the next step in her life.


End file.
